Salvadoee la



' (No Model.)

s. LA GRASSA.

' UPRIGHT PIANO UASE.

No. 354,323. Patented Dec. 14, 1886.

il 2.9585. MM

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SALVADORE LA. GRASSA, OF NEWV YRK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HARDMAN, PEGK & 00., OF SAME PLAOE.

UPRlGHT-PIANO CASE.

SPECIFICATION iorming part of Letters Patent No. 354,323, dated December 14, 1886.

Application filed June 28, 1886. Serial No. 206,563.

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SALVADORE LA Gnnssn, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Retaining-Catches for Swinging Desks of Pianos and other Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

In United States Letters Patent No. 339,169,

to granted April 6, 1886, is shown and described a swinging desk which serves, when swung outward, to support music. Such swinging desk consists of a panel which is hinged at its upper edge in the front of the case of an upright piano; and there is employed in connec tion therewith a frame or rack which is pivoted within the case and behind the hinged panel, andwhich falls or swings forward or downward when the hinged panel swings forward, and comes to a position below the hinged panel, in order that it may serve in connec tion with the hinged panel as a desk or rack forsupportingthe music. In such an arrangement of parts the hinged panel is thrown automatically outward by a spring, when a catch which engages with the lower edge of the panel is retracted. This catch, in one construction, has consisted of a resilient spring arm or shank, secured at its rear end within the case and ex- 0 tending forward through a notch in the fixed portion of the front below the hinged panel, in order that the thumb or finger might be pressed upon it to push it downward or retract it, and in another construction a verti- 5 cally-sliding bolthas been arranged below the panel and provided with an outward projection,which extends through a slot in the front, and which may be pressed down to retract the bolt.

The form of catch first above described is unsightly, and when the linger is pressed upon it to retract it, and the hinged panel is released and thrown outward by a spring, the top of the finger or thumb is liable to be scraped by the lower edge of the hinged panel.

The form of catch last above described necessitates an unsightly slot in the front of the case for the bolt projection to work in, and as the thumb or finger is to be placed above the projection for pushing it down it is liable to (No model.)

be scraped by the lower edge of the panel, as above described.

The object of my invention is to provide a re taming-catch for the purpose above described which is more sightly than that heretofore 5 5 used, and which may be retracted by a simple push rod and button working horizontally through the fixed portion ofthe front at a little distance below the hinged panel.

Myinventiou avoids notching the fixed portion of the front below the hinged panel, so that the springcatch may project through the front, and it also avoids any liability of the finger or thumb being scraped and injured by the hinged panel when it flies outward.

My invention consists in the combination, with the fixed front of a musical instrument and a hinged panel above, provided with a spring for throwing it out to form a desk or musicrack, of a spring-actuated catch for retaining the panel closed, and a push rod or pin sliding horizontally through the fixed front below the panel, and serving when pushed inward to retract the catch and release the swinging desk or panel. The retaining-catch in the above combination may advantageously consist of a spring arm or shank having at its forward free end a shoulder or projection, formin g a catch for-engagement with the shoulder upon the lower edge of the hinged panel, and provided with a downward projection or supplemental arm, on which the push rod or pin may act for retracting the catch.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a sectional view of a portion of the front of an upright piano illustrating my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the retainingcatchalone; and Fig. 3 isa sectional elevation corresponding to Fig. 1, and illustrating a modification of my invention.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A designates a fixed portion of the front, which is above the key-board,andl3designates the swinging desk or hinged panel, which is pivoted or hinged at b at or near its upper edge.

At the upper edge of the hinged panel or desk a spring, 1), acts upon its inner side for throwing it outward when its lower edge is released.

"Within the ease and behind the hinged panel or swinging desk B is a rack or frame comprising a bar, 0, having at each end arms 0, which are pivoted at c. When the hinged panel or swinging desk B is closed, this rack or frame 0 O swings up behind it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but when the hinged panel or swinging desk is released and thrown suddenly outward by the force of the spring I) the rack or frame GO swings forward and downward and comes to a position below the bottom of the outwardly-inclined swinging desk or panel B, so as to serve in connection therewith to support the music. These parts may all be constructed and arranged as shown in the aforesaid patent, and are not a feature of my invention.

The retaining-catch which I prefer to employ for holding the hinged panel orswinging desk B in the position shown in Fig. 1 is represented in Figs. 1 and 2. It consists, essen tially, of an elastic or yielding arm, D, which is secured at its rear or inner end, and has at its forward free end a shoulder or projection, d, for engaging alip or shoulder, (1, upon the lower edge of the swinging desk. The springarm D may consist of a flat strip of steel having at its inner end a downwardly-projecting portion, d", whereby it may be secured by screws to a block, 6, secured to the inner side of the front portion, A. The natural resilience of this arm D serves to always hold the shoulder or projection d in engagement with the corresponding shoulder or lip, (1, upon the hinged panel or swinging desk, and to retain the latter closed, as shown in Fig. 1.

The spring arm or shank D of the catch is provided with a downward projection or snpplemental arm, D, upon which acts a pushpin, E, extending horizontally through the front portion, A, and provided with a pushbutton, e, outside such front portion. This push-pin E may be secured against outward displacement by a small cross-pin, e", and its inner end acts against the downward projection or arm D. It will be obvious that when this push-pin E is forced inward by a slight pressure of the thumb or finger its action upon the arm D will draw downward the arm D at its forward end, and will thereby retract the shoulder or projection (Z sufficiently to free it from the shoulder or lip 61', and will permit the swinging desk or hinged panel B to be thrown outward by its spring I).

The little push-pin,with its ornamental button,extending through the fixed portion A, is far more sightly than was the nose of the springcatch heretofore used, and when the thumb or finger is pressed upon the push-pin it is so far removed below the lower edge of the swinging desk or hinged panel B that the latter will not scrape over and injure the finger or thumb.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a catch of different form, which may be employed for the same purpose, and which has advantages when combined with the swinging desk or hinged panel B, as it also comprises a push-pin, E,working through the fixed front portion, A, and having a button, 6, applied to it. The catch shown in Fig. 8 consists of a vertically-sliding bolt, f, which is thrown upward by a spring, f, into engagement with the lip or shoulder (1 upon the lower edge of the hinged panel or swinging desk B. This bolt and its spring are arranged within a socket or case, which may be introduced into a hole bored in the portion A. The push-pin E passes through a slot, f in the boltf, and has upon its lower side a wedge or inclined surface, cflwhich acts upon the lower inclined end of the slot f when the push-pin is forced inward to lower or retract the boltf out of engagement with the lip or shoulder d, and thus permit the desk to swing open.

Although I prefer to employ the form of re taining catch shown in Fig. 2, the construction shown in Fig. 3 would form a like combination with the fixed front portion, A, and the swing ing desk orhinged panel B, and would be more advantageous than the form of catch heretofore employed for a like situation.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination,with the fixed front of a musical instrument and a hinged panel above, provided with a spring for throwing it out to form a desk or music-rack, of a springactnated catch for retaining the panel closed, and a push-pin working through the fixed front and sliding in a horizontal direction to retract the catch, substantially as herein described.

2. The spring arm or shank D, having at its forward free end a shoulder or projection forming a catch, and provided with a downward projection, on which apush-pin may act for retracting the catch, substantially asherein described.

3. The combination,with the fixed front of a musical instrument and an upper hinged panel provided withv a spring for throwing it outward to form adesk or music-rack, of a spring arm or shank, D, secured at the rear end, and having at its forward free end a shoulder or projection to form a catch, and also having a downward projection, D, and a push-pin, e, sliding horizontally through the fixed front, to act on the projection D to retract the catch, substantially as herein described.

SALVADORE LA enassa.

\Vitnesses:

FREDK. Haynns, EMIL HERTER.

ICC 

